


Shipwrecked - KomaHina

by Zouie_v



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked, M/M, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:22:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29524977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zouie_v/pseuds/Zouie_v
Summary: No one remembers much. Not how, why, or when they got on the ship, or how long they had been confined to their living spaces within the vessel. The constant rocking of the boat on the waves was as monotonous as their new routines - eat, stare out the window, sleep, eat, stare out the window, sleep......That is, until their ship crashes. The group is stuck in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people, and no sign of any of the ship's crewmembers.The situation only brings more questions, never answers. There is only one thing they know to be true: Survival is Key.What could this bring for them? Hope? Friendship? Despair? Love? That is for them to find out for themselves.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

A singular beam of sunlight danced through the window as the world swayed. Hajime softly groaned as he shook free from the grasp of his previously deep sleep. Blinking slowly, he sat up and looked around the plain white walls he had found himself confined to for the past week. Outside the single round window, an endless sea of waves met his gaze yet again. This scenery had been unchanged for as long as he had been on whatever ship this was.

He stepped out of bed and walked to the closet of this room, filled with a number of the same shirt, the same pants, the same everything. He was given no variety; there was nothing in his own power to even try to change up this daily schedule. It could be worse, he always thought to himself. Regardless, he put his usual outfit on and stared in the mirror at himself. His green eyes scanned over his reflection before he let out a soft sigh. Nothing notable again.

The sharp, familiar rapping on the ever-locked door rang through the room. Hajime turned his head as food was given through a slot on the wall, the tray landing on a small shelf just beneath it. The teen moved over to grab what had been served for breakfast and sat down at the small desk opposite his bed. Steam slipped up through the air from the food before him: scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and a singular orange with a carton of milk to drink. After a mind-numbingly silent meal, Hajime set the platter back on the shelf in front of the slot it had come through and fell back onto his bed. There was little else to do besides pound on the door and demand to be released from the room, but he had exhausted that over the past week of trying. Besides attempting to communicate with his captors, he had tried his hardest to think of why he had been captured as well. His memories were blurred before the week prior. He remembered living at home, times of him going to school, but... nothing involving why he was on this ship. The gentle swaying of the boat was a constant reminder of the strange situation he was in. Hajime hadn't been able to speak to another person since he had been on the ship, regardless of how hard he hit the door or how loud he shouted. Even when his food was dropped off, it seemed like there was no one there. It was discouraging, and he soon found himself, unfortunately, used to it.

Hajime's gaze stayed pointed at the blank ceiling above him as he thought. No matter how hard he thought, he did not have enough information to conclude anything about his predicament. After continuing to ponder things for a couple of hours, the brunet slowly began falling into a gentle sleep.

. . .

A sudden crash, along with the tearing of metal rang through the vessel, causing Hajime to bolt to his feet in a flash. The floor beneath him felt unstable and tense as if too much weight would have it crack. His eyes were wide with confusion as he looked around wildly. Nothing had happened to his room, but he quickly noticed one new occurrence: the door was open! He slipped the single bag of belongings he had over his shoulder and dashed into the hallway. The walls of the hallway were a light beige with deeper brown accents, lined with at least eight or ten doors on each side, most of which were at least slightly ajar. Hajime's room had been at the end.

The door across from his room swung open as Hajime took in his surrounding. A boy emerged quickly, his face turned away as he looked behind him. Hajime didn't have time to react before he had been crashed into, falling to the floor with the other boy. The two released a similar sound of surprise before looking at one another.

They locked eyes. The one ahead of Hajime chuckled awkwardly and began to stand up. He was a thin teenager, most likely around Hajime's age. His hair was long and extremely messy, nearly white, with warm-toned ends. He stood up fully and stared back down at Hajime with green-gray eyes and an apologetic expression on his face.

"Hey! Are you alright?" He extended a hand, which Hajime reluctantly accepted. After being pulled to his feet, he gave the other a nod. The floor beneath them shifted slightly, as if the ship were tilting slightly upwards.

"What's happening?" Hajime asked quickly, beginning to move down the hallway of open doors. Had there been other people here? Why were there so many doors? Why were they here, anyways?

"I don't know! Have you been stuck in a room too?" The other asked, to which Hajime nodded in return. The light-haired boy followed briskly behind Hajime down the door-filled corridor until they found a stairwell. One set of stairs went to a floor below them, and the other went up. After exchanging a glance, the pair ran upwards, passing one other floor, before reaching the top set of stairs. Passing through the doors at the top of the stairwell, they were blinded by bright sunlight surrounding them. 

Hajime gasped and blocked the sun from his eyes as they adjusted to the new lighting. When he removed his hand, the situation ahead of him left him wide-eyed. Besides the one he had met in the hallway, there were at least 13 or 14 other people on the deck. They all looked at the newly emerged pair in surprise.

"Hey! There's more! That makes like... 16 of us, right?" A small girl called out. "Were you two both locked in a room, too?"

Hajime responded, "Yes, both of us! Down in that hallway, right?" The group nodded in return and looked back at the front of the boat.

"We crashed."

What?

Hajime's eyebrows knitted in thought as he walked to the edge of the boat. The light-haired boy followed after a moment of hesitation. Surely enough, the ship had appeared to run into the rocky shore of an island. Large, but shallow stones punctured the front of the ship, on what looked to be the first level. Along with this, the ship itself had settled upon a sandbar, slightly tilted upwards, in a manner that only the first, punctured level fell below the sea level. Hajime was stunned. He turned back around to speak to everyone else.

"Where... is everyone else?" He asked.

"We don't know." A larger teen spoke up, stepping forward out of the group. "We've checked around everywhere we can, there's no one in the conference room, captain's room, or the floor beneath the deck." He gestured toward each part of the ship as he spoke, with the control room at the front of the deck: captain's room in the back, and the floor beneath them. "The bottom floor is inaccessible even if people were still down there- it's still flooding as we speak. Of course, with the ship on the sandbar, I don't think the water will get past the stairwell."

Hajime looked around quickly, beginning to grow a bit panicked. "No one here? How is that even possible?" No one had a response. "What do we do?"

"We were just discussing that, actually-"

The world shook yet again. A large boom rumbled the entire watercraft and the group of adolescents themselves. The front of the ship went up in a burst of color as the group quickly ducked. With wide eyes, they looked at each other and back at the damage. No flame was to be seen, but there was a noticeable hole at the front of the vehicle.

"What just happened?!" One of the girls shouted.

"I-I-is everyone ok-kay?" A nervous, panicked female voice called out. A chorus of "I'm fine!" and simile phrases followed.

"It... exploded?" A boy spoke, fear as evident as could be on his face. "Why did it...?"

"I don't know, but..." The larger boy pulled himself up and slowly began moving towards the front of the ship. A few protested but were ignored. As he walked, a few got up to investigate with him, Hajime included.

Sure enough, something within the conference room, or directly below it, had detonated in some way. The deck and two floors below it had destroyed- including Hajime's room and the boy whose room had been across from him! Hajime could see the edge of his wall and floor, but everything else had been destroyed. They even had the ability to see the bottom floor of the ship, which had indeed flooded to about a foot below the ceiling of the level (or floor of Hajime's room's level).

"My room..." The brunet said quietly, still stunned by everything. The entire situation didn't make sense in the slightest! Why were they on the ship? Why was there no one else? Why did they crash? Hajime backed away and looked at the group that hadn't investigated the hole. "The two floors beneath the explosion were destroyed as well. Not entirely, but... my room, and the other guys," he gestured next to him at the thin, light-haired teen," have been destroyed. It doesn't look like the damage goes any further out than the wall."

"He's right," the larger boy spoke up. "Whatever that was could have been a lot worse. Everyone is alright, yes? We need to figure out what to do from here."

"Who even are you people?" A short, blonde girl spoke up. She looked at everyone, as if judging them silently.

And with that, introductions began. The boy Hajime had run into was named Nagito, he had discovered, and the larger, more authoritative boy was Byakuya. The others also now had names connected to their faces and voices. None of them had ever met, nor did they attend even remotely close high schools. Why were they even here?

"Is there anything... special," the last word sounded more like a question as Hajime spoke, "about any of us? Why would we of all people be here? It was like, I don't know, a prison...?" He couldn't remember anything about himself that would set him apart from other students! He had really lived a normal, plain life up until now. Yet... he still could not remember how he ended up on the ship.

"I suppose," Chiaki, a short girl with light, dusty-pink hair spoke up, "I was labeled as the 'Ultimate Gamer' back home. I don't know what gaming would have to do with this ship, though..." Her statement drifted off as she yawned, appearing suddenly tired.

"Oh! I've been called the 'Ultimate Musician!" Ibuki piped up, grinning. "I still don't know how it connects to the boat, and us being held here, but-"

"That is a strange coincidence. I'm the 'Ultimate Affluent Progeny' due to my family's status." Byakuya's eyebrows were knitted in thought as he scanned the rest of the group. "Are you all also-?" As everyone else nodded their heads and stated their talents, Hajime grew nervous. 

"I can't remember mine." He stated. He had to have a talent if everyone else did, right? There was no way he would be mixed up in a group of kidnapped Ultimate Students! "I don't know why. Maybe my memory is more messed up than I thought..." Hajime drifted off and lightly clenched his jaw. Why couldn't he remember? 

"Yeah, I can't remember what happened before we got on the ship, so maybe Hajime can't remember even further than that," Kazuichi shrugged. "We really don't need to worry about all of this, anyways! As the Ultimate Mechanic, I-"

"What are you gonna do, huh?" Hiyoko put her hands on her hips and looked up at Kazuichi. "The boat's non-functional, idiot! Did you not see the explosion?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "We're stuck." Stuck? 

Hajime swallowed a lump in his throat. Stuck? Stranded? What was even going on? His own uneasiness seemed to fall upon many more people, including Hiyoko who had made the claim herself. 

"We can determine how 'stuck' we are later. For now, we need to make a plan as to what to do so we can at least survive tonight." Byakuya stepped forward as the anxious teens moved their gazes to him. He pushed up his glasses and continued, "I believe we should further investigate this ship. We need to look for resources, information, anything of use." 

"Who made you leader, huh?" Hiyoko piped up.

"I wasn't going to label myself as 'leader' just yet, but I suppose now isn't a bad time. To ensure everyone's safety, allow me to take the position of leader." Byakuya looked back around at the group, where no more objections were heard. There were a few faces of hesitant agreement, but nothing more. "We should split up into groups of two or three and check out individual rooms and areas. Our own... dorms, I suppose, do not need to be investigated. Those that were damaged by the explosion could be looked at, though. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads before turning to one another to group up.

And thus, the investigation began!


	2. Chapter 2

Hajime awkwardly shuffled, trying to find someone to ask or to be asked by, when he bumped into Nagito yet again. "Hey, Hajime! Want to check out the captain's room with me?" The thin teenager asked with a small smile.

"Sure, ah- but do you want to go see what happened to our rooms first? I want to see what was destroyed." Hajime gestured to the large hole at the front of the boat before walking back to the stairs, Nagito not far behind. The floor felt much less strained beneath their feet now. The destruction of the front of the boat must have released much of the tension within the structure, which felt like it would snap at any moment beforehand. As they descended, they passed the floor beneath the deck, which was now full of other students investigating and walking around. Hajime could not see much besides the other students and several doors.

"So, Hajime..." Nagito spoke up as they continued to the level containing the remnants of their rooms. "You really can't remember your talent?" Hajime shook his head. "That really is a shame! It's fascinating, in a way- I wonder if I can guess it before you remember." He chuckled and walked beside the brown-haired boy until they reached the end of the remaining hall.

The wood splintered haphazardly just before where their doors would have been, but this still left a ledge where the edge of their floor had been. Peeking around the destroyed wall, Hajime was able to see up close the extent of the damage. All that remained was the ledge of the floor leading to his closet. He silently thanked himself for grabbing the few important belongings as he had left the room earlier.

"A shame," Nagito sighed after pulling himself back from his own room, "not even a bed remains." Hajime gasped softly, looking from Nagito back to his room. He was right! Everyone else's rooms had been thankfully untouched, so they had places to sleep, but the two of them seemed out of luck. What would he do when night came?

"Shit, you're right!" Hajime balled a fist in frustration, before pulling himself away from the destruction. "I'll talk to Byakuya about this when we all meet up- there has to be somewhere we can still sleep. Let's head back up."

"Maybe the captain's room has a bed or two?" Nagito suggested as the two walked down the hallway the direction they had come from. The floor they were on was nearly silent, but the pair could hear the others speaking and walking above them. With the staircase on one end and the large hole on the other, it was no surprise that sound traveled so easily. Even their own footsteps up the steps had a slight echo in the large staircase. 

The bright sun greeted the two as they stepped back onto the deck. Only Byakuya remained on this level, as if he were standing guard, waiting for everyone else to finish their investigations. He gave Hajime and Nagito a nod to acknowledge them as they walked to the captain's room.

The door was made of the same wood as the floor, but shinier, or less used. Hajime put his hand on the cool, gold-colored doorknob and gave it a pull. Inside lay a rather simple, but well-organized room. It appeared to be similar to two rooms in one, a bedroom and a living room or office area. The bedroom portion held a soft-looking white and gold-colored bed next to a closet. A line of cabinets and drawers, with a plain desk-like top, extended from the closet. This appeared to be where the captain slept and kept his personal belongings. In the other half of the room sat a couch that appeared to pull out into a mattress, as well as a table with a few chairs along the opposite wall. The walls themselves in each of the half-rooms were decorated with pictures, maps, and a few plants. This room was very well furnished, especially compared to the rooms they had been in before. 

"Wow," Hajime said as he took in the room. "This place is really nice!" He looked back at Nagito with a small, pleasantly surprised smile. They would have a place to sleep! Regardless of how weird things were, this still felt like a small victory. 

"Ah, the door locks from the inside!" Nagito commented as he shut the door behind him. "I was a bit worried we would have to sleep on the ground or something. Though, that really would be my luck, right? I guess I would deserve it." Hajime glanced over, a little confused by the comment. Deserve it? How strange. "But there's quite a lot in here, right? We should check out the cupboards." 

The messy-haired teenager moved to the bedroom portion of the room and sat next to a large cupboard. His pale fingers grasped the cold metal handle as he gave it a small pull. "It's locked?" Nagito looked back over at Hajime, who was already walking over as well. "I see the keyhole, but I guess I wasn't expecting it to actually be locked."

"Yeah," Hajime responded, pulling on the next cupboard over. This one pulled open quite easily to reveal an array of glass bottles of varying sizes and shapes. "What?" He picked up one of the bottles and began reading it, but quickly realized what he was holding. "Oh! It's... a liquor cabinet?" Nagito extended a hand to receive the bottle Hajime had been holding and inspected it as well.

"It is! I guess it makes sense. This was the captain's personal room, after all." Nagito handed the bottle back and moved to the next cupboard. "Leave it here, we can figure out what to do about it later." Hajime nodded and closed the cupboard door before continuing his search elsewhere.

The two ended up searching the room for between a half-hour and an hour. Regardless of how thoroughly they searched the room, overturning papers, checking in cushions, pillows, et cetera, they did not find anything of particular interest. Not even the key to the locked cupboard was to be found in the room! Hajime felt a little discouraged by the lack of information gained from their search, but was still pleased that the room had two pieces of furniture to sleep on. 

"Should we head back?" Hajime asked Nagito, who was finishing returning the pull-out bed to its original form. "The others might be finishing up by now." His muscles felt stiff from crouching and kneeling to investigate the room, so stretched out his arms and legs as Nagito stood as well. 

"Yeah. I don't think there's much else in this room," the other responded. He walked to the door and opened it as Hajime finished stretching. Sure enough, the rest of the group was just heading back on deck. The two walked back out of the captain's room and joined them as Byakuya had just begun speaking. At this point, Hajime realized how hot the sun really was. The weather was far different from home, he noted. Were they in the tropics?

"Alright, everyone, what have we found out about this ship?" The blond said, straightening his posture and pushing his glasses up. He seemed to have felt the same about the heat, as beads of sweat were beginning to form on his head. It seemed that he, along with many others, had a uniform not suited for this environment. 

"The second floor - or, is it the third? Do we count from the bottom or the top? Whatever - it's similar to a large storage area!" Ibuki called out. "I was with Mikan as we checked out a room full of medical supplies."

"Yeah, it's separated into different areas depending on what items are being stored," Mahiru agreed. "The largest room holds quite a bit of food and cooking supplies."

"The last room had more versatile, but rather miscellaneous things." Kazuichi shrugged. "Stuff like basic tools, sewing kits, rope, I don't know. It's a good room but really messy. Right, Miss Sonia?" Sonia nodded enthusiastically but didn't seem to pay Kazuichi any mind.

"Also, there appeared to be a library at the end of the dorm hallway," Gundham spoke up, "It has a larger, more intricate door, so I supposed it would be good to investigate. Nothing in there was of use for me and my Four Dark Devas... It appeared to be a typical library, on the smaller side." The Four Dark Devas he spoke of sat at different portions of his body. Hamsters. They were rather cute at least, but how did he manage to have them on the ship?

"I see," Byakuya responded. "Several storage rooms... That's a very good resource. And books never hurt..." He glanced at Hajime and Nagito now. "You two. What did you find in the captain's room?"

Hajime perked up before speaking. "Ah, yes! In the captain's room, there is a normal bed and a couch that pulls out into a bed. Since Nagito and I's rooms were destroyed, is it alright if we stay there?" Everyone else shrugged and nodded. "Also, there is one cupboard that is locked with no key so far. The only other notable thing is the liquor cabinet." Surprise flashed on everyone's face at that.

"What?" Byakuya demanded. "An entire cabinet of alcohol?" Hajime nodded as Nagito slipped away to bring proof. 

"We could have a party to celebrate not dying!" Ibuki joked with a mischievous grin. "...'n we have medical supplies in case we get hangovers!" Although the suggestion got her a couple sharp glares, not everyone seemed opposed to it.

Nagito returned holding a smaller bottle. "None of them are open, either." He handed the bottle to the self-proclaimed leader with a small smile. "It's not as useful as what everyone else found, but still." Byakuya inspected the bottle with furrowed brows. The sun was still beating hard down upon them and a single drop of sweat fell onto the bottle in his hands. 

"I... am unsure what to do with this. Leave it in the cabinet with the others, and we simply won't touch it." He gave his answer with a certain finality, as if that was the end of their encounters with the liquor. "For now, why don't we eat? It must be getting close to the evening." The group agreed unanimously.

"I can try to cook something for these pretty ladies," Teruteru purred at the girls, "in return for a little action." He winked at Sonia. "All I need is a stove~" 

"You're gross. Besides, we don't have electricity! There's no stove that works." Mahiru looked at Teruteru with an annoyed expression. "You shouldn't speak like that to women, it's disrespectful. What kind of man are you?" She turned away without giving him a chance to speak. "Come on, let's go find something to eat." The girls followed her as she walked away. 

"We should eat too, but maybe it would be best for us to wait a bit so they can get their food...?" Hajime suggested. The remaining boys nodded.

. . .

After everyone had gotten themselves something to eat, the sun had begun setting. The sky was painted a lovely orange and pink color, with the clouds stained lovely pinks and purples. The salt-scented air hit their faces as each person sat on the deck. They chatted amongst themselves, starting to get to know one another as actual people. Hajime found himself with Nagito and Chiaki at his sides, with Kazuichi, who was still fawning over Sonia, nearby. Byakuya sat within earshot, but did not involve himself in conversation. 

"This entire situation doesn't feel real," Hajime said before taking a bite of his sandwich. They had to use the refrigerated food items by the end of the night, or else they would spoil and go to waste. No electricity meant no refrigeration! "I guess I'm so in shock that it hasn't really hit me yet."

"I agree," Chiaki said before yawning. She still appeared exhausted, with her eyelids drooping and posture slightly slumped. "This is just... weird, you know? It feels like a survival game." Nagito and Hajime both nodded in agreement.

"Part of me is curious as to what lies in the island. Sure, we have stuff on the ship, but everything runs out sooner or later, right? We're going to have to investigate that eventually." Nagito brushed his hair out of his face as he spoke. "It's nice that everyone is staying hopeful. Their hope gives me hope!" Hajime looked at him for a moment inquisitively, but made no comment. Sure, it was good to stay hopeful, but it seemed like there was more to his words. 

"Yeah, but that's... probably something we will worry about tomorrow," Hajime responded with a small shrug. "I just really want to sleep, honestly." His own eyelids felt just as heavy as Chiaki's, and his body felt as if he had doubled in weight. He could pass out right there if he allowed himself...

Byakuya, having overheard the conversation, stood up. "Alright, everyone," he paused so everyone was paying attention, "I think we have done quite a bit today; you all deserve to rest well tonight. We will continue working on a course of action tomorrow and move from there. Please stay on the ship, and try not to leave the dorms too much, as we don't know what to expect here. Thank you." With that, he began to walk back to his room, descending the stairs with loud, echoing steps.

Hajime yawned and looked around. Those who were still eating remained sitting, but one by one people regressed to their rooms. The deck grew less and less populated until Hajime decided it was time to return to his as well. "Nagito, I'm heading back," he spoke to the light-haired man as he stood up. "I'll see you later."

"Going to sleep? Alright. You can take the normal bed if you prefer, I'm fine with the pull-out." Nagito looked up at Hajime and smiled.

"Speaking of pull out-" Teruteru tried to interject, but was ignored. 

Hajime walked back to the new room quietly before he shut the door behind him and breathed a sigh. Today had been beyond exhausting for everyone, and yet despite their best efforts, more questions sprung up than were answered. He fell on the bed and buried his head into the soft, plush pillow that lay upon it. Rolling over, he faced away from the door and lightly covered himself with one of the smaller blankets. As the sun set, it had gotten noticeably chillier. Not absurdly cold, but rather comfortable with a jacket. As his eyes fluttered shut, the thoughts he had attempted to repress began springing back up.

Why were they here? Why couldn't Hajime remember his talent?

What were they going to do from here?

Are they truly stuck?

Regardless of his anxious thoughts, exhaustion eventually pulled him from consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

_Knock Knock!_

Hajime groaned as the sharp rapping on the door sounded through the whole cabin. Sitting up, he saw Nagito at the other end of the room rubbing his eyes. His body tensed for a moment with alarm before he remembered the events of the previous day. 

"Morning, Nagito," he spoke to the other while yawning. The sharp _Knock Knock!_ sounded again, causing the two to wince at its volume. "Yes? Who is it?" Hajime climbed out of bed and moved to the door. After opening it, he was faced with Mahiru. "Oh hey, what's going on?"

Mahiru scoffed, "Took you long enough! Byakuya wants everyone out on the deck in like five minutes, so you two better be there!" Finishing her statement, she turned and returned back to the small crowd gathering ahead. Hajime shut the door again to give himself a moment to mentally prepare. His eyes landed on the empty closet next to the bed.

"Ah-I didn't check out my actual closet yesterday. I wonder if my clothes survived..." He mumbled to himself. Nagito climbed off of the pull-out mattress and cracked his back. It appeared that he hadn't slept very well, as there were faint bags under his eyes. "Are you alright?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, the mattress is just kind of lumpy," the other responded, "and I was thinking too much last night." He slipped his green, asymmetrical jacket over his shoulders and glanced at himself in the mirror. Hajime followed his gaze but looked back out the window after they made eye contact within the mirror itself. 

"Sorry. We can alternate who sleeps on the actual bed?" Hajime suggested as he sat on the lumpy pull-out mattress and began lacing his shoes. Even as he sat, the uneven feeling of the mattress beneath him was as prominent as could be. A single, almost sharp spring was uncomfortably positioned under him. 

"Oh no, it's okay! I'm fine with this one- you deserve the other. You ultimates need better rest!" Nagito gave a small smile and slid his own shoes on, leaning down to zip them up. "Besides, I really don't mind."

"That isn't really fair. I'm going to sleep on this," Hajime patted the couch-bed, "tonight, and you can get the better bed." Nagito's smile fell a bit to more of a slightly confused, yet neutral expression. "Besides, I didn't really do anything to deserve it anyway." The brunet stood back up and walked to, and out of, the door. Nagito followed after a minute.

Back on deck, the students gathered in a crowd full of quiet conversations. It appeared that people were already discovering who they'd get along best with! Byakuya scanned the crowd and gave a satisfied hum when he saw everyone had arrived. 

"Hello, everyone. I trust everyone had a good night?" He addressed the group. "As your leader, I have thought deeply about what we need to do today." The larger man puffed his chest out a bit in pride. "We need to investigate the island."

"Hell yeah!" Nekomaru shouted enthusiastically, causing a couple of others to jump at the sudden outburst. 

"I wonder what kind of food is out there!" Akane grinned. "I'm getting pumped!"

Byakuya ignored the two's comments and continued speaking. "I was thinking of four groups. Three groups of four can go and check the shore and a bit past the tree line, and the other group of four can stay here to see if we can improve upon our situation on the ship." His gaze moved away from the group and off of the ship towards the lush greenery of the island. Their investigation yesterday left everyone too tired and confused to even think about venturing out, but now progress could be made. "I will be staying on the ship, who else would like to join me?"

Mikan raised her hand nervously, followed by Teruteru. Everyone else glanced around at one another; it appeared no one else wanted to stay. Finally, Fuyuhiko sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"I might as well stay, no point in me trying to help you bitches on the island." He walked over to the group staying on the ship and crossed his arms, noticeably turned away from the group. "I can do my own thing on the ship anyways." Byakuya nodded his head, before turning his attention back to the others.

"Alright, assuming you all can count, you can sort yourselves into groups when you head out. I would prefer everyone to arrive back before sunset with updates." 

Hajime looked around as people began shuffling around, sorting themselves into groups. Mahiru, Hiyoko, Ibuki, and Peko were in the first, Akane, Nekomaru, Gundham, and Sonia in the next, and Hajime, Nagito, Chiaki, and Kazuichi in the last. Kazuichi appeared disheartened, as Sonia had already followed Gundham to a group before he could ask her. He appeared to be a bit wary of Nagito, as well. 

The groups began exiting the ship, all in different manners. Some jumped into the water cannonball style, while others went to the damaged second floor and entered the water that way. It only took a small swim for them to be able to touch the sand again. The ocean itself felt nice upon Hajime's skin, the cool waves gently pushing him as he swam. It was a nice relief from the hot sun. 

"This is the kind of place you could build a resort at!" Kazuichi said as he waded further towards the shore. He glanced back at the others in his party and smiled, "Maybe we can find a way to enjoy it?" Turning to Hajime, he said quietly, "Think of all the girls in swimsuits, or underwear, swimming and getting all-" Hajime moved away quickly, gaze moving to Chiaki. 

"Shut up or she'll hear you!" He said in a hushed tone. Nagito and Chiaki soon caught up, and the four met dry sand after completing their wading. The rest of the groups were already beginning to explore in opposite directions of the beach, leaving the tree line to them. They weren't supposed to go too far into the greenery, as Byakuya said, but the implications still left a small pit of unease in their stomachs.

"What do you think is in there?" Chiaki said, staring up at the tops of the trees. They came in a variety of species, with certain ones bearing fruit and others with large, fibrous leaves. 

"I hope nothing dangerous," Hajime responded, swallowing the lump of nervousness beginning to form. He picked up a stick from the ground and held it like a sword, trying to gain a sense of security. They were defenseless, really - had Byakuya really thought this out?

"That's quite the weapon," Nagito commented with an air of amusement. He reached into his pocket and took out a wad of cloth, which was then revealed to contain a small knife. "I found this before we left!" Hajime was taken aback, as was Kazuichi, but he shook it off.

"Jeez, swimming with a knife in your pocket? Dude, that's dangerous!" The pink-haired teen said. "You're lucky it didn't cut through the cloth and hurt you!" He shook his head. He had made no effort to begin the journey from the beach into the actual island as if he was waiting for someone else to go first. What a chicken, thought Hajime. 

"I guess I am lucky!" Mused Nagito in return as he observed the shiny metal blade in the sun. "But it'll be useful at some point, I'm sure." Hajime nodded and shifted his attention back to the trees before them. After taking a deeper breath, he began walking in, followed by Nagito, then Chiaki, and finally a hesitant Kazuichi. 

The world around them grew thick with plant life and loud with the sounds of birds and other animals. The four walked slow, eyes darting all around as they observed their surroundings. It was breathtaking, a natural beauty they felt lucky to be able to view. When they reached a small clearing, still close enough to the beach to see the sand, they eventually stopped. Hajime, with his eyes to the tops of the trees, bumped into a still Nagito.

"Ah - sorry," the brunet apologized, shaking himself out of his awestruck daze. "I got distracted by it all." Nagito offered a smile in return and waved it off. 

"It's alright, don't worry."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Chiaki murmured, looking around. "A beautiful, abandoned island, in the middle of the ocean... it feels fictional, doesn't it?" She tilted her head a bit and looked back at Hajime, who gave a half nod, half-shrug. 

"Who would have thought we would be put in a situation like this, hah..." Nagito spoke up. "A situation where all we can do is try to survive, and hope to be found... It's a little inspiring." It seemed more like he was speaking to himself. "I guess I am lucky to be able to witness it all!" No one responded to this. Hajime looked a bit warily at the light-haired teen, confusion evident on his face. What did he mean by that? Lucky? How could anyone be considered lucky in the situation they were in? Chiaki and Hajime exchanged a glance but decided not to comment. 

"Weirdo," Kazuichi mumbled out of earshot of Nagito. He moved further away, inspecting a plant with small red berries growing on it. The pink-haired man struggled to pull one of the small pieces of fruit from the bush, but it did come off after a noticeable struggle. "Is this even edible? Is it even ripe?" He asked, offering it to Hajime. Hajime held it up to see it better. It was small, about the size of a blueberry, and quite firm. It had a shiny appearance to its reddish skin, which seemed to be quite thick. 

"Whatever it is, I don't think we should eat it. Not here, at least," Hajime spoke up. "We should at least bring it back to show the others." He glanced back over in the direction they had come from. The beach was still in view, though the salty air did not seem to reach them. The wind picked up after a moment, causing the trees to sway and dance above them. More sunlight was able to come through the leaves, painting each of their faces with a light glow. Hajime felt Nagito's eyes on him, but when he looked over, the other had turned his gaze back to the trees. "Let's continue searching."

That is just what they did. The four continued to pick through the different plants, grabbing anything small enough to keep in their pockets on the swim back to the ship. Hajime had a few pieces of small fruit in his pockets, which he was careful not to squish. The others had things like bits of leaves, feathers, fibrous materials, etc. that they also kept with them. The sun was beginning to start its descent, indicating that it was late afternoon or early evening, but the group was now unsure what to do. The idea of exploring further into the greenery was more than unnerving, but there seemed to not be much else to look at where they were. The island seemed endless, really, so they weren't sure how far right or left to go. 

"Is there anything else we could check out before heading back?" Nagito asked. He had tied his jacket around his waist soon after they had arrived on the island, as it had soaked up far too much water to be comfortable. Hajime was sure if the circumstances were different, the teen would still have it on. "I want to be thorough, but I just don't know how far we can go before it's too much." Hajime nodded in agreement and glanced around one more time.

"I think we've gone far enough for now... I don't want to go too far away from the ship or too deep into these woods. Maybe we can go check on the others if they aren't too far?" Hajime suggested, beginning to walk towards the sand. The plants seemed a bit thicker here, requiring a bit more effort to push them aside. Although, just as he began moving through them, he felt a sharp pain in his left forearm as he was scratched by the flora. 

"Fuck!" He cursed, quickly grasping the injured limb. Fresh blood was already beginning to escape the wound, spreading warmth to the entire area. Panic began to seep through the teen as he ran onto the sand, into the full sunlight, to view it. "Fuck!" The words were spoken through clenched teeth. "It's not that deep, but _fuck!_ " He cursed yet again as he spoke, the rest of his group quickly rushing over to see as well. A bit of blood had fallen into the sand, immediately becoming coated in the sparkling grains.

"Hajime!" Chiaki and Nagito said in unison as they moved. Kazuichi had found a different path to get through, so it took him a moment to join them. 

"Are you alright?" Nagito asked, a surprisingly concerned expression on his face. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the blood slipping from the cut. Chiaki gently took Hajime's arm to look at the wound and winced in second-hand pain. It wasn't that deep, just as the brunet himself had said, but it was not pretty. 

"That's a lot of blood," Kazuichi said uncomfortably, "let's head back to the ship. Will it be bad if it gets wet while swimming?" He did not enjoy looking at the wound, which was evident in his expression and lack of eye contact. His hands fidgeted a bit as he glanced in the direction of the ship.

"Probably. We don't really have much of a choice, right? Let's just go." Hajime began walking without another word. The wound throbbed with sharp bursts of pain as he walked, making it impossible to truly ignore it. The rest of the group followed suit, notably concerned but trying not to dote too much. 

"The others said something about medical supplies, right?" Nagito had found his way beside Hajime as they traveled. "Mikan will fix you up on the ship! She stayed behind with the others." He put a hand up to block some of the sunlight from his eyes. 

Within a couple of minutes, the four had found their way back to the ship. Their clothes and shoes, having just recently dried, were soaked yet again as they waded. It didn't appear that they _needed_ to swim at all-the water had pulled back from the shore due to the low tide. The water only reached their ankles at first, but as they walked it seemed to get deeper. Upon arriving at the ship, it was up to their stomachs. The ship appeared even larger with more of its hull exposed, but that wasn't the only thing to catch their eyes.

A rope ladder hung from the side of the ship now. The group breathed a sigh of relief and began ascending, glad that they hadn't had to find their own way in. With each push forward, Hajime's arm screamed in pain. He tried his best to ignore it and soon reached the deck with the others, panting softly as he watched Chiaki and Kazuichi run to grab Mikan. 

Nagito stayed put by Hajime, eyes moving from the wound back to the brunet's pained expression. He didn't appear to know what to say, but a slightly concerned expression still remained on his face. After a moment, he spoke up. "I'm sorry you got injured, Hajime." The brunet looked back over and met his gaze. "It should have been me to get hurt, but... you wanted to take charge, right? You might have some of your own leadership skills." He looked away from Hajime now, his gaze drifting to the island they had returned from. Hajime didn't respond as he tried to process Nagito's words. Such a low sense of self-worth... "Do you think there's anything else we have to worry about over there?"

"I don't think sharp plants are the end of the dangers, but... it's too soon to know for sure." Hajime straightened back up as the other two from his party emerged from under the deck with Mikan closely following. Mikan's eyes went wide with worry as soon as she saw the blood. In her hand was an unopened first aid kit. 

"Hajime! I-I heard what happened, let me tend to your injury!" She exclaimed before she guided them to sit on the wood away from the rope ladder. Hajime let the others from his group know that they were free to leave and update Byakuya on everything. The three did as they were told, leaving Hajime in Mikan's care. And so, Mikan began working to fix up the other's arm. While she worked, Hajime winced occasionally, but the process was soon over. His wound had been cleaned, covered, and wrapped with surprising efficiency! "There, Hajime. D-do you feel alright?" Mikan stuttered a bit and let go of the other's arm quickly. "It wasn't deep at all, so you'll be alright, b-but try not to use that arm as much, okay?" The brunet nodded and stood back up, nodding his head as she spoke.

"Thank you, Mikan, I appreciate it," he offered a small smile of gratitude. "I think I am going to go lie down for a bit, please let the others know if they ask." Hajime looked back over at the captain's room that he and Nagito had come to share and headed back over to it. 

As he stepped through the door, a wave of exhaustion rushed over him. The adrenaline that had flooded his system was dissipating, leaving him drained. He fell back onto the bed with a soft huff and rolled over on the plush sheets. His eyes already felt heavy regardless of how much he willed them to stay open. After a few minutes, he found himself in a light sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Hajime's rest did not last long, unfortunately. Within an hour of peaceful, still slumber, the ever-so-familiar _Knock Knock!_ rang through the cabin. His green eyes fluttered open as a groan escaped his lips. The sun was beginning to properly set now, leading to a golden orange painted sky and a lightly tinted bedroom. As his hands moved to push himself up and off of the bed, a sharp reminder of his injury left him wincing in pain. He knew it wouldn't kill him, and he was confident in the Ultimate Nurse's ability, but _damn_ did it hurt. Mumbling a few curses to himself, the teen moved to slip his shoes back on and walk to the door. The moment the knob turned within his hand, a cheerful voice rang out.

"Hajime!" Ibuki cheered. "I heard you hurt your arm! Are you alright?" She pulled the door open a bit more to look at the bandaged limb. She emitted a small gasp and grabbed Hajime's wrist to pull his arm closer to her. Hajime winced immediately, causing Ibuki to take a bit more care in her inspection.

"Yeah, it was on some... plant, I guess. I didn't even see the bush properly before I got cut by it," Hajime watched as Ibuki turned his arm a bit as if inspecting for the bandage to be blood-soaked. Upon determining that the situation was safe, she let the appendage go and looked back at him. Her eyes were bright and full of excitement and a bit of relief, with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Byakuya wants everyone to gather back on the deck while we eat!" The musician gestured behind her at the small group of students already together. "We're going to talk about what we found today and develop plans for later. I still want to convince him to have a survival-party or something, but he's pretty insistent that it's not a good idea. Total buzzkill, right?" Her nose scrunched up a bit as she said the last sentence, but her eyes still showed humor and mischief. Hajime chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. 

"Alright, I'll grab some food and head over," he responded with a small smile. Although his arm hurt, he would be able to get something to eat just fine. After their interaction was finished and Ibuki headed back over with the group on the deck, Hajime began heading down to the storage level of the ship. Each time he stepped foot into the food room, he was taken aback by the variety of shelf-stable goods the area had to offer. Sandwiches still seemed the quickest and easiest thing to make, so he decided to go with that. It wasn't like they had the ability to cook the foods like pasta or rice yet, so he had to take what he would get. Footsteps echoed down the stairs while Hajime assembled his meal. Although aware of the presence, the brunet did nothing to view or interact with the person who had arrived.

"Ah, Hajime!" A familiar voice sounded. "It's great to see that you're awake!" Nagito walked up to Hajime and glanced between the food he was making and his injured arm. "I stopped by the room earlier to check up on you, but you were already asleep," he chuckled a bit before moving to grab his own meal. "It looks like Mikan did a nice job fixing you up."

"Yeah," Hajime responded, glancing behind him as Nagito walked away. "It hurts, but I don't think it will take too long to heal." He bent down to grab himself a water bottle, which were noticeably beginning to decrease in number, before turning to face the light-haired teen directly. His movements were all but smooth, as if he was doubting every motion or action he took. Hajime did not comment. "Did I miss anything important?"

"Oh, no, we all just waited around for a bit and discussed some things. It's great to see everyone work together, isn't it?" Nagito smiled a bit down at his food as he finished. "We're all so confident we will be rescued! I hope... that this feeling between us all doesn't change." His eyes met Hajime's for a moment. Hajime himself couldn't pinpoint what he saw in the gray-green irises, but each time it was there he was filled with a sense of unease. He wanted to understand what was going on in the other's head when he said such strange things. How much was Nagito hiding in their interactions?

"I mean... it is nice that we are cooperating," he agreed, "but you don't have to sound so ominous about it. I'm sure we can figure out how to survive until we are found. We can get answers." The confidence in his voice did not feel like his own. "I'm going to head back up." Hajime began to walk back towards the door and up the stairs, leaving the other behind. He knew so little about Nagito that it was impossible to read him. Each time he spoke about hope, he got that strange look in his eyes... as if there was much more to the concept than anyone but him couldn't see. It was so strange, but it was too early to make any real assumptions about the other. They did share a room, so the last thing Hajime wanted was to mess up whatever friendship they had. He wanted to like Nagito, but part of the other's demeanor unnerved him.

Upon exiting the interior of the ship, Hajime found himself seated on the floor with the rest of the gathered group. They were still waiting for a few others to return, but a majority of everyone was there. Mikan seemed especially pleased at the state of Hajime's bandage with its lack of blood. Although they had rather nice medical supplies, a continuously bleeding wound would not be beneficial to anyone, nor did they have the capabilities to save someone if they lost too much blood. Nevertheless, Hajime began interacting with the others around him. It was simple chitchat, as close to normal conversation as you could get in a situation like this. 

"Imagine getting cut up by a _plant_ on our first day on the island. What a pussy!" Hiyoko scoffed, laughing a bit as she looked at the wrapped-up wound on Hajime's arm. Hajime opened his mouth to protest, eyebrows furrowed, but someone else spoke up before he could.

"Hiyoko! Be nice." Mahiru looked over at the short girl with a frown as she scolded her. "But... to add to that, what did the plant look like, anyway?" Her gaze moved to the injured teen. "I want to know so I can avoid it."

Hajime nodded and began explaining what he remembered its appearance to be. By the end of his explanation, everyone else appeared to have joined the group. The conversations grew louder for a minute or so due to the influx of people, but soon Byakuya called out for everyone's attention.

"Alright, everyone! I've received reports from everyone that went out, but I think it would be good for you all to update one another. Would anyone like to go first?"

"I can," Mahiru spoke up. "So my group and Nekomaru's both went down either side of the beach to see if the island looped at all, but... I think this place is a lot bigger than anticipated." She looked over at the others within her group. They nodded their heads.

"Yeah! It's like... neverending!" Ibuki quipped. Peko nodded her head as well but didn't speak.

"Yeah, the only thing to note on our side was a river flowing into the ocean. Freshwater." Nekomaru gestured at the island in the direction of the river. His expression stayed intense regardless of the emotion he was portraying-intense happiness, intense concentration, etc. He was easy to read and even easier to understand, something Hajime found to be a breath of fresh air compared to others on the ship.

"We were going to follow it to see if it led anywhere, but it went very far from what we could tell," Sonia smiled, her natural elegance evident as she did so. Elegance was going to be harder and harder to achieve as days went on, with the lack of proper showers and washing machines. Of course, they would have to make do.

"Freshwater is good. We will be running out of water bottles soon, so we will have to figure out a way to clean it soon," Peko nodded her head, her serious expression evident.

"Y-yes! Cleaning the water is very important! Th-there are... far too many diseases or bacteria you can get from d-dirty water!" Mikan spoke up quickly. As usual, she was very concerned about the health and well-being of everyone there. It seemed to be the only thing she didn't apologize for talking about.

"Yes, yes... Alright, Hajime? Your group?" Byakuya directed the conversation. "You went a bit into the actual mainland, right?"

Hajime nodded, "Yes, we did. There are so many different plants there, and quite a bit of fruit!" He reached into his pocket to pull out the surprisingly uncrushed berries. He had completely forgotten about them due to the injury happening, and was amazed that they hadn't burst when he laid down earlier. "We aren't sure if these are ripe, or... even edible, but fruit is a good sign?" Byakuya got up to grab the berries from Hajime and inspect them himself. He sat back down and looked the few over. 

"There's a lot of beautiful wildlife, it's quite pretty. We heard plenty of birds, but I don't think we saw any yet," Chiaki added. "The leaves from certain trees seem like they could be useful-they're big and fibrous." She pulled out her own findings and passed them over. "Plus, with an abundance of trees, it might not be that hard to get things like firewood."

"We have to be careful of the plants, though!" Kazuichi spoke up. "Hajime got cut on one. Was it a sharp branch of a leaf, or...?" He looked to Hajime, who also didn't have an answer. Shrugging, he returned his eyes to the group. "I've never seen a lot of the plants before, though..."

"We don't know the location of this island, so it makes sense to not recognize things. We could be on the other side of the world for all we know," Byakuya sighed and shook his head a bit. "But that doesn't matter. We have to come up with tasks for everyone so we can actually survive here. The food within the storage room is fine, but we can't use a lot of it without a fire." A few people gave small nods in understanding.

"So we gotta build a firepit, right? That doesn't seem so hard!" Akane smiled widely. "We can just make a circle of rocks here on the deck and burn stuff in that!"

"No, _idiot_ , the deck is made of wood!" Hiyoko retorted. "You'll burn the whole ship down!"

"Why don't we use broken parts of the ship to build a...a firepit?" Hajime suddenly spoke up. The others looked over at him as he suggested the idea. Byakuya smiled.

"Precisely. Beyond that, we should have people gather useful materials from the island, and possibly explore where that river Nekomaru mentioned goes. If there's a pond or lake, it would be highly beneficial to know of ASAP." Byakuya nodded his head. "I think that is an adequate plan. Any comments or suggestions?" He was met with head shakes and shrugs from the others. "Alright. Tomorrow, assign yourself a job and work together, okay? We can meet back up around sunset, like normal." His announcement seemed to end there.

Hajime finished the last of his sandwich and took a swig from his water bottle. In terms of survival, things seemed rather straightforward. The only thing he was worried about was the prospect of other large animals on the island itself; after all, they hadn't explored very much of the land at all. They couldn't even assume what they would find, either, without a proper geographic location. He shook the thought away, not wanting to get too lost in his own head for now.

"Hey, Hajime," Chiaki spoke up with a small smile. "What group do you plan on being with tomorrow, with your injury?" She still seemed a bit concerned about the wound, her eyes flicking between Hajime's face and the limb. 

"I don't know yet, honestly. I kind of want to go back to see where that river goes, but... I don't know how useful I would be." Hajime sighed lightly before stretching his body a bit. "I want to be able to help, you know?" Chiaki nodded in response and made a face. For a moment, she appeared deep in thought.

"I mean... exploring the island wouldn't really put that much strain on you, right? We would be walking more than grabbing things-you'd probably be better doing that than gathering materials or building." She nodded her head with a sense of finality when she was done speaking. Hajime tilted his head a bit as he thought, gaze back over to the lush greenery off the ship. She did have a point.

"You're right, thank you."

The conversation didn't get much more eventful after that. The two spoke about other things, including their own lives before their current situation. Hajime was glad for this, as he did feel rather comfortable with her. She was a good friend. 

As nighttime drew upon them, they said their goodbyes and headed to their respective rooms. Hajime entered the dark, empty room with a small sigh and went to set up his bed for the night. The creaky pull-out bed whined underneath him as he climbed onto it and continued creaking whenever he shifted. Why did Nagito feel that he deserved _this_ for a bed? Hajime wouldn't wish this on anyone. He huffed a bit, trying to find a comfortable position among the back-stabbing springs. After a few minutes of uncomfortably laying, the door opened with a creak.

Nagito stood in the doorway, trying to be quiet as he entered. He appeared to believe that Hajime was already asleep. To prove this false, Hajime raised a hand in a wave, although his back was to the door. "Hey," he greeted as he rolled back over to face the other. 

"Ah- hello, Hajime. I didn't wake you, did I?" The light-haired man asked with a slight tilt of his head. After a shake of Hajime's head, he let out a small breath of relief. "Good."

"No, the pull-out bed's too uncomfortable to fall asleep on _that_ quickly," Hajime chuckled a bit. "How did you even sleep on this last night?"

"I didn't, really."

"Oh."

Hajime sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling awkward. Nagito didn't comment anything further on this and unzipped his shoes. After leaving them by the door, he moved to sit on the bed that would be his own that night. Even in the low lighting, the bags underneath his eyes stood out among his pale features. Everything about him was so... unsaturated. Between his light hair, light skin, gray-green eyes... that were staring right back at him as he got lost in thought.

Hajime looked away and cleared his throat. "So, uh... have you decided what you're going to do tomorrow? What group you're going to be with?" A totally smooth topic change, right?

"I'm still thinking about it. I don't really know how I can be of use to everyone," Nagito hummed to himself, unphased by the conversation shift. "I heard you talking to Chiaki earlier. Island exploration, right?"

Hajime nodded his head, about to speak, before getting interrupted by a yawn. "Yeah, I can't really build anything or hold heavy things two-handed until my arm heals. Exploration is the only thing I can really do, you know?" Nagito hummed in acknowledgment within the dark room. As the sun set further and further, it became harder to see more than just his messy-haired silhouette. 

"I understand." The other responded. "I don't have a worthy enough talent to really do anything... productive, I suppose. Luck only can do so much." Hajime could practically feel the other's shoulders slump with self-loathing. "That reminds me... Have you remembered anything regarding your own skill?"

Hajime sighed in response. It was bound to be sooner or later that the question came back up. "No, unfortunately. I just..." It was frustrating. "I don't know. I feel like I _should_ remember my talent by now, but I just... don't." He felt stupid. "How can you just forget something like that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll remember it soon enough!" Nagito's voice called back, cheerful in tone. "Have some hope, Hajime. Until then, I think I'm going to try to guess what it is." A certain curiosity crept into the other's voice as he spoke. Hajime as a whole had piqued his interest, it seemed. "It might be fun."

Hajime shrugged again and let out another small sigh. "I guess. But... I'm going to sleep now, I think. Or at least try." He laid back down to a chorus of creaking. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Hajime," Nagito responded, laying down as well. 

The room went silent soon after, and remained so until morning arrived. Hajime was not sure when or how long he slept at all.


	5. Chapter 5

Nagito awoke with a start, heart racing within his chest and eyes wide. His chest heaved with strained breathing as he stared at the ceiling. _A nightmare_. As he sat up, the memory of whatever dream had woken him slowly drifted away as his gaze drifted to the window. It was dark outside, though the horizon was beginning to change color with the beginnings of sunrise. Nagito knew he couldn't go back to sleep at this point. With a soft sigh, he pulled himself from the soft mattress and blanket and stood up. Hajime still laid in the uncomfortable pull-out bed across the room. Nagito was glad the other had managed to fall asleep at all.

Nagito walked over the wooden floor to grab his jacket, which he slung on immediately along with his shoes. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he wanted to at least leave the room so Hajime could sleep in peace. Before exiting, the light-haired man glanced over at the sleeping figure. Why had he been so stubborn about sleeping on the stupid, lumpy bed? He was sure the other didn't enjoy it at all. Anyone else would have gladly taken the offer to permanently stay on the comfortable bed, but... not Hajime. Hajime was so strange.

Shaking the thought from his head, Nagito exited the captain's room and walked out onto the deck. The fresh air welcomed him with a gentle salt-scented breeze. He looked in the direction of the rising sun, which had turned the sky a gentle greenish-blue in that direction. It wouldn't be too long until the others began to wake up. His footsteps were all that was heard across the deck as he walked to the side of the boat and looked down into the dark water. He faintly saw his own reflection, which he grimaced at. Disgusting. Besides him himself, Nagito saw how _dirty_ he looked. None of them had been able to properly shower in days, and it was definitely showing. Not only that, but the two whose rooms were destroyed hadn't even been able to change clothes!

An idea struck the man. Their... closets hadn't been destroyed, right? The only issue was that there wasn't enough floor, nor was it stable enough to walk across. Glancing in the direction of the front of the ship, Nagito's eyes landed on the rope ladder hung up the day before. Perfect.

Within ten minutes, the thin individual had tied the rope ladder to the edge of the wrecked portion of the ship. The ladder was long enough to reach the water itself, but Nagito only needed to get down two levels. Peering down into the dark, the outline of his own and Hajime's rooms could be seen, along with their closet doors. As much as he didn't trust how he had set up the rope ladder, he trusted that his luck would keep him from falling. Even if he did fall, it wouldn't result in death. 

Slowly, he lowered himself down the unstable ladder to the remnants of his own room. Once he was level with the closet, he swung the door open to view his wardrobe. It was truly amazing; none of his clothes had been damaged! Several shirts, pairs of pants, even a couple of jackets and pairs of shoes were there! A smile crept to his face as he grabbed as many hangers as he could, securing them to an extra piece of rope he had grabbed previously. It took a few trips to get everything up and onto the deck. After getting everything of his own, Nagito moved to grab Hajime's things as well. He hoped that the other would appreciate it-though he knew he did not deserve such appreciation. He wanted to do what he could to help the others, so their own hopes could shine in their situation! 

After several more trips down a newly-positioned rope ladder, Nagito was already exhausted. The two wardrobes were tiresome to procure, but anything was worth it to not feel so _filthy_. The sun was finally visible above the horizon line, lighting up the world with a warm glow. Hajime would wake up soon, he thought. 

After returning the rope ladder to its original position, Nagito crept back into their room as silently as possible. The clothes were beyond heavy and difficult to carry. After throwing everything onto the comfortable bed, he let out a quiet sigh. Would he even be able to get changed without Hajime waking up? Wouldn't the other be upset with seeing someone like him disrobed? The thought left a pit of shame in his stomach, but he still knew he needed to change. After a moment of thought, he sat on the floor behind the bed, out of Hajime's sight, and began to change his clothing.

 _God_ , did he need that. His face scrunched up as the old outfit sat on the floor ahead of him. Disgusting. How had he tolerated it for that long? He stood up and ran his hands down the clean clothing on his body with a small, satisfied smile. Much better. 

As he stood, he heard a muffled groan emit from Hajime across the room. He immediately tensed, staying as still as possible to avoid further waking him up. Regardless, Hajime opened his eyes and sat up with another soft groan. Nagito relaxed a small bit, still feeling guilty for waking the other.

"Ah, good morning, Nagito. Sleep well?" Hajime asked, stretching his arms up to the sky as his back cracked. It sounded like a glowstick, Nagito mused. That thought was immediately replaced with more guilt. How could he have let the other sleep on something so awful?

"Good morning. I slept alright, though I did wake up early," he responded. "Since I did, though, I managed to get out clothes from the wrecked rooms." He gestured to the two piles of clothing on the bed, to which Hajime gasped.

"Wow! How did you-?" The brunet smiled, immediately climbing out of bed to look at his clothes. Nagito smiled at the other's enthusiasm but didn't answer his question. "Thank you!"

"It's no problem, Hajime, I just couldn't stand being in those dirty clothes any longer," Nagito chuckled softly. "It would have been rude if I hadn't gotten yours while getting mine, right?" The smile on Hajime's face left a strangely happy feeling in Nagito. He had done something good!

"Still, thank you." Hajime grabbed a new outfit before pausing. "Uh... do you mind leaving for a moment? I want to change." 

Nagito nodded his head and rushed to put his shoes on, cheeks faintly pink with embarrassment. He should have offered to leave sooner! Quickly, he was out the door, which shut behind him. Within a moment, he collected himself and put his neutral, pleasant expression back on. No one else needed to see any more than that.

Morning was in full swing at this point. People were beginning to exit their rooms, grab food, socialize, etc, with several others already in conversation on the deck. Nagito hesitated, unsure of what to do while Hajime was changing, but decided to go grab himself something to eat. In the food storage room, there was not much easily preparable food for breakfast. With no electricity, it was difficult to make anything. At least today was supposed to lead in advancements in that department. Even just a fire would do wonders! Nevertheless, Nagito grabbed himself an apple and a water bottle and headed back upstairs. 

Hajime was out on the deck when Nagito arrived, speaking to Chiaki with a happy smile. The light-haired man couldn't help but smile as well, but decided not to interrupt their interaction. Rather, he leaned against the edge of the ship and began eating. 

Time seemed to move by rather quickly from there. More and more people emerged from their rooms and got started with the day, deciding which tasks they wanted to take on and who they wanted to work with. In reality, it made Nagito irrationally happy, but he didn't dare show it physically. Everyone was so hopeful! They hoped that by working together, they could survive! Be saved! It was beautiful.

Nagito wasn't sure what he wanted to do or with whom. He was tempted to ask Hajime, but felt he had bothered the other far too much already. Living with Nagito was enough of a service, he felt. So, instead, he spoke to Byakuya about any other potential jobs for the day and was assigned with cleaning up bits of debris from the crash and explosion from both the ship itself, the water, and the shore. The pieces of metal and salvageable parts would be used for projects on the ship. Kazuichi would use whatever skills he had to build what he could to help them. Even if those projects weren't mechanical by nature, the skills he had could transfer to their situation rather well.

Nagito wished he could say the same about his own talent. What was _luck_ anyways? How could that help anyone in a situation like this? In a way, he never really thought about how much he took advantage of his natural luck. Things that he hadn't even thought about were results of his luck. And yet, he cursed himself. What a useless talent. At least he could clear, he thought, that was useful in itself. Mundane tasks no one else wanted to do were perfect for someone like him.

And so, he cleaned. Scavenged. Hours upon hours of gathering resulted in quite a mass of material, to which even Byakuya was surprised. Impressed, even. The bottom floor of the ship, he had found out, was another set of bedrooms. They were all flooded, of course, but there were certain belongings that had floated out from the wreckage. Nagito assumed that they were rooms for other staff members on the ship, though there were no traces of the people themselves. It confused him to no end. Regardless, the things the people left behind were beyond interesting. He was done cleaning up the wreckage, so he figured it would be no waste of time to open the one suitcase he had found earlier. It had the smallest crack in it, leading the contents to be halfway soaked, but there had been enough air in the case for it to float.

The only notable item in the case was a calendar. It was mostly soaked, just as other contents were, but the year was just able to be made out. Nagito struggled to read it

His blood had gone cold when he did. It was a few _years_ after when he remembered. 

What?

If he took this information at face-value... he would be nineteen old. Nineteen.

What?

Nagito felt a bit dizzy. Confused. Unsure of what to do. Shaking this away as quickly as he could, he quickly ran to find Byakuya and let him know what he had found. Everything was much more complex than any of them had realized.

***

Byakuya was even more taken aback than Nagito. He tried not to show it, but Nagito could see it in his eyes and body language. The man was terrified.

"I... Are you sure this is correct?" The other asked, adjusting up his glasses nervously. As many times as he looked at the calendar, cleaned his glasses, and read it again, the text didn't change. "But..."

"I don't know. It was in the cracked suitcase I found earlier," Nagito responded, keeping a collected composure. He had accepted it at this point. "I don't know why they would have a calendar for years from now, so I suppose that is the year." A few others were beginning to approach them, finished with their own tasks and curious about the slight commotion.

"Hiya!" Ibuki popped over with a grin, leaning in to get a look at the item in Byakuya's hand. "What's that?" Her head tilted a bit as she grabbed the calendar, whose pages had practically fused together due to the water exposure. "Wait..." Her eyes went wide as they scanned over the numbers. "I'm 18!? 18!?!?" You could practically hear the extra exclamation points in her voice. Her shock and enthusiasm resulted in a few others joining them, and soon there was a large group surrounding the thick, damp wad of paper.

To say everyone was surprised was an understatement. Most didn't really know how to react, whether they were doubting it, processing it, or not understanding it in general. Nagito slipped back a bit from the group as chaos ensued. Part of him wished he hadn't shared this information. But after a few minutes of intense commentary from the others, the group that had explored the island had returned, climbing up the rope ladder to land on the deck. Excitement was evident on their faces, but this was quickly replaced by confusion and curiosity.

"What's going on over here?" Hajime asked, walking over. No one in the inner circle even heard him speak, but Nagito did.

"I found a calendar in a suitcase while cleaning up debris," he responded. "Turns out we are older than we remember. I'm nineteen." Hajime's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he opened his mouth to reply. His mouth shut for a moment before he pushed his way into the inner group to see for himself. The rest of the exploration team followed suit. 

"What?" Nagito heard Hajime say. He assumed the other had gotten his hands on the calendar. "That makes me... twenty? What?" The confusion and growing alarm in his voice was clear as the sky above. He wasn't sure how the brunet would take it.

"Okay, everyone back up, please." Byakuya raised his voice to get the group to make space. "This is shocking, sure, but we can't panic."

The group followed the self-proclaimed leader (who actually was not doing as bad of a job at leading as expected) and took a few steps back to create a rough circle for discussion. The tension that had fallen over them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Hajime had fallen back beside Nagito after a moment, the two exchanging a glance. Now that they were aware of their own ages, Nagito recognized that the brunet _did_ look older than they had originally believed. He had not thought much of it at first, but he found himself believing the calendar more and more as time went on.

"I know this is a surprise, but... this was found from inside the ship itself. Nagito was cleaning debris and found this from the bottom floor of the ship. I have a hard time coming up with reasons for it to be fake." Byakuya sighed softly and held it up for everyone to see. Even those who had already viewed it more than once had their eyes trained on the year. 

"And we are just supposed to accept this? Really? What fucking bullshit is that?" Fuyuhiko snapped. His hands were balled into fists of frustration, and possibly a bit of fear due to the confusion. "How do we know that's real, huh?"

"What if the ink spread too much because of the water? We could be reading it wrong!" Mahiru suggested as if hoping that it was incorrect. It was a very unlikely scenario.

"I d-don't think th-that's it..." Mikan stuttered out. "The l-last two digits are... are too clear for that. I th-think. I'm sorry!"

Byakuya waved off her apology. "I don't think that's it, either. I genuinely believe this is correct, as... strange as it may be. We should all take time to let it process."

Process? It is hard to process information like that when it only brings up more and more questions, Nagito thought, but he didn't say anything. He felt partially responsible for the epiphany, but knew it was a realization bound to happen eventually. He had accepted his own age now. How much of his own life had he missed? It was hard to say that he 'missed' anything-maybe he should be thankful to not remember all of the bad luck his life would have brought. Maybe he should feel robbed. He didn't know.

"Regardless, it's good to see the island group came back," came the swift topic change from Byakuya yet again. It wasn't smooth, but any more time spent on the subject would have led to even more unbearable tension. "Care to update us while we are all here?"

Hajime straightened up. "Oh, yeah-" his gaze switched between the others that had been with him. "The river leads to a pond, with a waterfall falling into it. It isn't that hard to climb up the rocks to follow the river further, but we might want to make something there to help. Beyond that, the river continues for a while, with a small lake at the end. It's all freshwater, though I am unsure how clean or untouched it is. There are lots of plants around the entirety of it, and we did see some small animals and birds." He nodded his head.

"I had the idea of using the waterfall as a shower or something since there's a water source beyond it. We could shower there and still have clean water to collect and drink." Chiaki raised her voice a bit to be heard over the small murmur of the group. "The waterfall isn't too far from the shore, either, so it's not too far of a walk."

"That's a good idea. Thank you," Byakuya nodded his head and looked to the island. "If people are going to bathe on the island, I think it would be safest to go in pairs. I don't want anyone going alone; it is too unexplored." From where they stood on the ship, they could faintly see where the river turned to the ocean. Their crash site had been rather convenient time and time again. "I think we should end this meeting there, then. We do not have to meet up at sunset, but I encourage you all to eat together still." And with that, he began walking away from the group.

Nagito turned away from the mass of people and walked to the edge of the ship, staring out at the intimidatingly large island. He wanted to go shower, to clean his hair and get rid of the salt caking on his skin, but did not want to bother anyone by asking. He would cave in eventually, selfishly, he knew.

Within a few minutes, the group had relatively dispersed, leaving people to do their own things. Kazuichi had begun loudly working with the metal Nagito had collected to build a firepit. He had commented earlier that he would like to make a sort of stove as well. Nagito paid little attention to him and attempted to block the sound out. With the sun still rather high in the sky, a new party formed to collect firewood and fruit from the island. Nagito did not volunteer.

The day was relatively uneventful after that point. Everyone was working on projects, collecting materials, or doing their own things. Nagito's mind and body felt numb with exhaustion, leading him to spend some time reading in the small library on the dormitory floor. It was quiet, peaceful, and a nice way to spend the rest of the far-too-confusing day.

The sun worked its way down to kiss the sea once more, and the group of apparent-adults found their way back to their respective rooms to sleep. It came easier today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, Nagito's perspective? How scandalous! 
> 
> On a serious note, I do think I want to include more of his POV within this fic! I still want Hajime's point of view to be primary, but I like the bit of ~spice~ the change in perspective brings. Maybe every 5th chapter could be Nagito? It's a strange pattern to have, but it could be interesting I think. 
> 
> If you hate this idea (or love it), please let me know!


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